Toxoplasmosis which is caused by Toxoplasma gondii, has a high risk of fetal
infection development if the
infection occurs during pregnancy. Treatment with oral
spiramycin is recommended during pregnancy in order to prevent the transmission of protozoa to fetus and development of
infection. Since
beta- glucan is known to stimulate the immune system and increase the phagocytic activity of the cells, it has been shown to exhibit immunomodulatory effect on many
infectious diseases. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effectiveness of
beta-glucan alone and in combination with
spiramycin and to determinate the levels of interlökin (IL)-10,
IL-12 and
tumor nekrosis factor (TNF)-α in mice experimentally infected with T.gondii. For this purpose, four experimental groups each consisting of eight BALB/c mice, were formed with the approval of Ethics Committee for the Animal Experiments. All the mice were infected with 2 ml of
suspension containing 2 x 102/ml of trophozoite prepared from T.gondii RH strain (Refik Saydam National Public Health Agency, Parasitology Laboratory of
Communicable Diseases Research Department, Ankara, Turkey), by
intraperitoneal injection. Twenty-four hours after the
infection,
beta-glucan (3 mg/day) was given to the
beta-glucan group,
spiramycin (200 mg/kg/day) to the
spiramycin group,
beta-glucan (3 mg/day) plus
spiramycin (200 mg/kg/day) to the
beta-glucan-
spiramycin (BG-S) group by oral gavage. The fourth group which was the control group was infected but untreated. The above administration was carried out for seven days. On the 8th day, under anaesthesia, 1 ml
normal saline was given into the peritoneum, drawn back later and the number of trophozoites in 1 ml of peritoneal fluid was determined by counting them on the Thoma slide. Moreover, by drawing the heart blood;
IL-10,
IL-12, TNF-α levels were determined in serum samples by ELISA method (eBioscience
Platinum, Austria). The number of trophozoites in the BG-S group was found significantly lower than the number of trophozoites in control,
beta-glucan and
spiramycin groups (p< 0.05). There was no significant difference between the
beta-glucan and
spiramycin groups, however the number of trophozoites in both groups was significantly lower than the number of trophozoites in the control group (p< 0.05). There was a certain decrease in
IL-10 level in
spiramycin and BG-S groups, compared to the control group, in addition when
IL-10 levels in
spiramycin and BG-S groups were compared with BG group, a significant decrease was noticed (p< 0.05). There was no difference in
IL-12 levels between the groups, while there was a certain decrease in TNF-α level in
beta-glucan,
spiramycin, BG-S group in comparison to the control group. Within the reach of our literature survey, this study is the first research in which the effectiveness of the combination of
beta-glucan and
spiramycin in the treatment of acute
toxoplasmosis was investigated. The results of our study suggested that there might be synergy between
beta-glucan and
spiramycin in the treatment of acute
toxoplasmosis.